Army To Cut 1 Brigade At Fort Riley

Recovery teams plan to resume searching for a Fort Riley soldier who drowned on Christmas Eve while duck-hunting on a northeast Kansas lake.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – The Army says it will eliminate one infantry brigade at Fort Riley as the military reduces its overall number of soldiers by September 2017.

Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno said Tuesday the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division will be inactivated.

The move is part of the Army’s plans to reduce its overall strength by 80,000 soldiers to 490,000. The cuts were already planned by the military before federal budget reductions were put in place in March.

Fort Riley is home to nearly 18,000 soldiers and three brigades of the 1st Infantry Division, as well as a combat aviation brigade.

Odierno says there will also be a reduction of civilian employees but an exact number has not been determined.